jonathan mcdowell
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SpaceX Starlink Satellites Have to Dodge Objects in Orbit Nearly 140 Times Every Day
It’s getting awfully crowded in low Earth orbit with more than 4,000 Starlink satellites currently in orbit and thousands more that will soon make their way up there. SpaceX’s internet satellites often stand in the way of orbiting spacecraft, defunct satellites, or space junk, racking up 50,000 potentially dangerous approaches over the past four years.…
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USA’s Docked Cygnus Spacecraft Successfully Manoeuvres ISS in Important Reboosting Test
NASA is breathing a sigh of relief following a successful demonstration in which a docked Cygnus freighter was temporarily converted into a booster engine for the International Space Station. The favourable test suggests NASA has the means to adjust the space station’s orbit should Russia decide to leave the orbital outpost, as the Kremlin has…
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Suspected Debris From Chinese Rocket Falls Onto Three Indian Villages
An area on the western coast of India has been hit by fragments of space debris that may have been a result of a Chinese rocket re-entering the atmosphere and breaking up into smaller pieces. Sadly, this is becoming an all-too-familiar story.